Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
Bronx locals say fentanyl ‘ruined neighborhood’ where 1-year-old died from opioid exposure
By
Ramsey Khalifeh
and
Bahar Ostadan
Published Sep 17, 2023
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
Bahar Ostadan
By
Ramsey Khalifeh
and
Bahar Ostadan
Published Sep 17, 2023
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Days after a 1-year-old boy died after an apparent opioid exposure at a Bronx daycare center, longtime residents in the area were mourning not just the loss of the infant — but also their neighborhood, which they say has become overrun with fentanyl.
“This reminds me of the crack epidemic,” said Chanel Garcia, 35, who lives near the Morris Avenue daycare where 1-year-old Nicholas Dominici was found unconscious along with two other young children on Friday.
“Fentanyl has really ruined our neighborhood,” Garcia added.
After losing her girlfriend and two friends to fentanyl overdoses, Garcia said she started carrying Narcan during the pandemic to revive people on the street.
“I saved eight lives,” she said. “But for kids to get hurt from that stuff? It’s affecting people that don’t even deserve to be affected.”
Garcia, who has lived in the neighborhood for nearly 30 years, said an area of E. Kingsbridge Road just down the street from the daycare is a hub for drug dealing.
“Two blocks from here you’ll see zombieland,” said Dan Trivino, another neighbor. “This is a scourge. If you walk in the train station, you’ll see them overdosing everyday.”
Like Garcia, Trivino started voluntarily carrying Narcan to help revive people he came across in need of help. At 70, the former Vietnam War medic has revived 15- and 16-year-olds – but no one as young as those injured at the daycare, he said.
“I call it the murder drug,” Trivino said of fentanyl. “They’re all bad, but this one is a terminator.”
Police found three young children unresponsive at the daycare in this building on Morris Avenue,
Bahar Ostadan
Fentanyl has become the most common drug found in New York City overdose cases in the last five years, detected in 80% of the city’s fatalities related to drug use in 2021. The Kingsbridge section of the Bronx recorded one of the highest overdose death rates in the entire city in 2021, according to the city's health department.
Black New Yorkers are more than twice as likely as white New Yorkers to die from cocaine or fentanyl overdose. Latino New Yorkers are a close second, according to city data.
Friday’s tragedy shined a new, shocking light on the city’s opioid crisis. Police and first responders found an 8-month-old girl and a 2-year-old boy unconscious next to Dominici. Another 2-year-old boy who was at the daycare the same day was later taken to the hospital with signs of opioid exposure, police said.
NYPD officials said a “kilo press” commonly used for packaging drugs was found inside.
Grei Mendez — the daycare operator— and Carlisto Acevedo Brito — who lives above the center — were charged on Saturday with murder and several other crimes including manslaughter, drug possession and endangering a child.
City medical examiner spokesperson Julie Bolcer said the official cause of Dominici’s death is under investigation. During a news conference on Saturday, NYPD Chief of Detectives Joe Kenny said the fatality appeared to be drug related.
“I have no words for this,” said Otoniel Feliz, Dominici’s father. “Sad is just the beginning of all my feelings.”
A red rosary hung from the daycare’s entrance on Sunday beside a notice from the city’s Buildings Department.
City records show the department’s Emergency Response Team attempted to inspect the site sometime on Friday and again on Saturday morning, but was unable to gain access due to the “ongoing potential homicide investigation.”
A sign for the NYPD Operation Clean Halls hung above a blue gate on the building’s exterior. The controversial program, which was banned in 2020 following a civil liberties lawsuit, allowed police to patrol the hallways of private buildings to search for illegal activity.
A federal monitor found that the NYPD still patrols buildings in a similar way, but residents like Garcia say police haven’t done enough to tackle the drug problem.
“The police are very adamant when it comes to loud music,” she said. “They take your radio, they take your speakers, they take your liquor … But this? I’m beyond words.”
Tagged
new york city
public safety
bronx
the bronx
Ramsey Khalifeh
Ramsey Khalifeh is a transportation reporter on the NYC Accountability desk covering the largest transit system in the country. He was previously a general assignment reporter at Gothamist and worked on the Boston Globe's metro and copy desk. Got a tip? Email [email protected]
Read more
Bahar Ostadan
Bahar Ostadan covers the NYPD and public safety. Got a tip? Email [email protected] or message Bahar on Signal at 646-740-7335.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
Early Addition: NYC comptroller backs off investing city pension funds in Israel bonds
Because Mark Levine pledged to make the investment during his campaign, here are your early links: A mini T-Rex skeleton on display at Sotheby's, New Yorkers love a fancy bird, excellent chalupas in Corona and more.
By
James Ramsay
Published Oct 15, 2026 at 8:34 a.m. ET
NYPD investigating after 5-year-old Queens girl found dead
Police responded to a call from her mother after an assault.
By
Brittany Kriegstein
News
NYPD investigating after 5-year-old Queens girl found dead
Police responded to a call from her mother after an assault.
By
Brittany Kriegstein
Hochul, Blakeman offer opposing visions for jobs to stem New York exodus
By
Jimmy Vielkind
Hannah-Jones, NYC schools chancellor set to speak at high-stakes integration town hall
By
Jessica Gould
Queens man found dead, police say, and injured woman is his mother, neighbors say
By
Charles Lane
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .